Introductory Lecture
    So you would like to take college-level English
    courses on Tolkien, at your own pace and for a
    price that even Lobelia Sackville-Baggins would
    love?  Great!
I urge you to start out by listening to my free
introductory lecture: “How to Read Tolkien
and Why.”  In this lecture, I discuss Tolkien’s
own ideas about how stories should be read and
why they are important, focusing primarily on
his Preface to the Second Edition of the Lord of
the Rings, his essay “On Fairy-Stories,” and
some of his letters.
    To listen to this lecture on your computer, just click the following link, or
    hit the Play arrow on the plug-in beneath it.  To download the file for
    playing on your .mp3 player, right-click the link and select “Save Link
    As….”  (Mac users may need to hold Control and click on the link to
    access the “Save Link As…” option.)
Questions?  Comments?  Email me at olsen@tolkienprofessor.com
    Ready to plunge into a fascinating, in-depth exploration
    of Tolkien's books?
    "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door....  You step into
    the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you
    might be swept off to.  Do you realize that this is the very path that goes
    through Mirkwood, and that if you let it, it might take you to Lonely
    Mountain or even further and to worse places?"
                                                                                                                    - Bilbo Baggins